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The Jam Community Comes Together To Help Famed Lighting Designer Candace Brightman

A fixture in the jam community and an icon in the world of lighting design, Candace Brightman acted as the head lighting designer for the Grateful Dead for over 40 years. She was personally hired by Jerry Garcia in the early ’70s and, more recently, she designed lights for Widespread Panic, as well as the Fare Thee Well shows in 2015.

“At first I was a little intimidated by [The Dead],” she told Jambands.com in 2015 “I’m not sure why but that didn’t last long. The band would be at the venue for long periods of time and I got to know them pretty well. I spent hours and hours hanging out with Garcia and we got along great.”

News recently broke that due to Age-related Macular Degeneration, or AMD, Brightman is losing her vision. Although there is no current cure for AMD, fans and friends are coming together to help collect money to find some form of treatment.

Bob Weir recently posted a link to Brightman’s YouCare crowdfunding page on his Twitter stating, “For almost 50 years, lighting designer Candace Brightman has been a vital part of the Grateful Dead community and live show. Now it is our turn to help her.”